Imaginary Friend

De: Stephen Chbosky

Narrado por: Christine Lakin

From a New York Times bestselling author, a young boy is haunted by a voice in his head in this "epic horror" novel, perfect for fans of Stephen King (Dan Chaon, author of Ill Will).

Single mother Kate Reese is on the run. Determined to improve life for her and her seven year-old son, Christopher, she flees an abusive relationship in the middle of the night. At first, the tight-knit community of Mill Grove, Pennsylvania seems like the perfect place to finally settle down. Then Christopher vanishes. Days later, he emerges from the woods at the edge of town, unharmed but not unchanged. He returns with a voice in his head only he can hear, with a mission only he can complete: Build a treehouse in the woods by Christmas, or his mother and everyone in the town will never be the same again.

Twenty years ago, Stephen Chbosky's The Perks of Being a Wallflower made readers everywhere feel infinite. Now, Chbosky has returned with an epic work of literary horror, years in the making, whose grand scale and rich emotion redefine the genre. Read it with the lights on.

One of The Year's Best Books (People, EW, Lithub, Vox, Washington Post, and more)

Reseñas de la Crítica

THE INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
One of Fall 2019's Best Books (People, EW, LitHub, Vox, Bustle, Washington Post, Associated Press, and more)

"Twenty years after his smash hit novel, The Perks of Being a Wallflower, Stephen Chbosky returns. . . an ambitious tale narrated through multiple perspectives, mashing together horror, fairy tales and the (rewritten) Bible. . . But Chbosky's true skill is in turning a book of absolute horrors -- both fantastical and real -- into an uplifting yarn. [This is] a book about so much -- fate, destiny, redemption, power. . . Chbosky has his eye firmly on humanity."—New York Times Book Review

"Imaginary Friend is an all-out, not-for-the-fainthearted horror novel, one of the most effective and ambitious of recent years. . . To be sure, the underlying sensibility that characterized 'Wallflower' is present in the new book, particularly in its empathetic portraits of people struggling to recover from personal tragedy. . . Perhaps its most impressive aspect is the confidence with which Chbosky deploys the more fantastical elements of his complex narrative. . . A very human story with universal implications."—Washington Post

"Chbosky's horror writing stands on its own. . . a gleeful meditation. . . the nine years Chbosky reportedly spent writing the book shows in his well-crafted scares, snappy pacing and finely turned plot. Imaginary Friend is well worth the time for those who dare."—TIME Magazine

An epic work of horror. . . Ambitious and compulsively readable. . . a Grand Guignol exploration of what it means to have faith, even in the face of absolute hopelessness. . . His willingness to pursue and present answers to such meaningful queries is what elevates Imaginary Friend from a more than competent attempt at the horror genre to a formidable work on par with other genre operas that also tackle spiritual matters, like Stephen King's 1978 behemoth 'The Stand' or Justin Cronin's 'The Passage' trilogy. Imaginary Friend is a book that far outstrips the expectations of his chosen genre. . . a book full of it's own light."—Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

"A haunting and thrilling novel pulsing with the radical empathy that makes Chbosky's work so special."—John Green, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Fault in Our Stars

"Like The Perks of Being a Wallflower, Imaginary Friend says that no matter how dark the places you have been or the things you have seen, no one and nothing and nowhere is beyond redemption. What is astonishing and laugh-out-loud genius is that Chbosky has disguised all this wisdom in an entertaining thriller. In true Stephen Chbosky style, he gives you the bran and the doughnut. Spiritual enlightenment and horror. I don't know how he did it. But he did it. It's a masterpiece."—Emma Watson, actor and activist

One of the scariest books I've heard in years

I went into this not really knowing anything about the author or the premise. I never read "perks of being a wallflower" and didn't hold out excessive hope for being truly scared a la "the shining." Also, it's a verrrrrry long book. This is something I typically prefer but wasn't sure how a horror novel could sustain itself over so many hours.
I. Loved. It.
I'd rather not give anything away about the plot because I think that part of my enjoyment came from having no expectation. I will say that I thought the pacing was excellent and the narration superb. I cared about all of the characters and could easily tell them apart by the voice acting. The moments which were meant to be tense absolutely were and when it was meant to build or fall, it did. If it were made into a television show, this book could easily last three seasons- there is a LOT of time and story covered. Although, if you're like me and have a lengthy commute, you wont mind a bit. Unfortunately, I did find that my 5am dog walks on a long dark road, with woods on either side, became less enjoyable.
Highly recommended.

Worth it.

I was not a fan of Perks, so I was a little wary of Imaginary Friend, but I really loved this book. Every character was well-rounded and important, making the sleepy little town come alive with people you could imagine passing on your own street. The plot was imaginative and demanding. Although some pieces seemed to be dragged out for no reason, and the ending just a tad convoluted, I would highly recommend this. It’s always a treat when an author can write out of their usual genre!

Too religious

The story starts off great and has good characters. It seems like a good fantasy story. Without spoiling the story for you it takes an unbearably religious fork near the end that almost ruined the story for me. I still gave it 3 stars because it was a well written story and I didn’t have to force myself to finish it.

Too long

The good: Fantastic narration. The author did a great job setting mood. He also did a good job with characters' thoughts and inner voices. Some reviews compared this to Stephen King and I agree -- reminiscent of King in his prime. The author was also good at making eerie, disturbing imagery without being overtly twisted or gory.
The not-so-good: Very loooong. The book could easily lose 5-10 hours and probably be better for it. I almost wrote that the plot is too rambling, but that isn't quite right. It doesn't really ramble. There seems to be intent behind every twist and turn; there's just no good reason for them. And finally, it's just too apocalyptic and biblical for my taste. Not that either is necessarily bad, just not my thing. I was more turned off by the apocalyptic aspect than the biblical one, but if you don't like religion incorporated into your good vs. evil epics, you might not enjoy this one.

Spiritual Horror?

I listened all the way through. If you like God/Devil stories with a twist of mystery, visual horror and twist and turns you will enjoy this book. Once
I figured out what the actual storyline entailed I was like O.M.G. There were times I was like "this could have ended 6 chapters ago. Narrative was great.